


Of Souls, Princesses and Commoners

by ThePrimeOne



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, One Shot, Reincarnation, Sad, Sort Of, light fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23507563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePrimeOne/pseuds/ThePrimeOne
Summary: In every time, in every path they meet. In every time in every path they come together, only to be pulled away.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Petra Macneary
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	Of Souls, Princesses and Commoners

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt at a reincarnation fic. It's a bit sad I think. Both in terms of tone and execution. Is what it is I suppose. Hope you enjoy regardless!

“Petra?

“Yes, Ashe?”

“I’ve been thinking about something ever since Jeralt died- no ever since Lonato passed. I was hoping you could answer something for me.”

Petra closes her book filled with mathematical equations she grew to dislike very quickly, knowing from Ashe’s somber tone that their study session together had come to an end. “Of course, Ashe. I am listening.”

Ashe nods and takes a deep breath. “In Brigid, do you believe in any sort of afterlife? Where do souls of those who have passed go to- if anywhere at all?”

Petra ponders the question for a moment. “I see. In Brigid, when someone has passed, it is not being uncommon for a large ceremony to be held. A part of the ceremony has what Fodlan is calling a Priest, to cover the body in various ointments and say a prayer to bless the soul of the one who has passed, asking the spirits to guide them safely into the afterlife, where they may have a safe and bountiful second life.”

Ashe nods. “I see…”

“But,” Petra continues. “There can be… oh what is the word… exceptions. Sometimes, if a soul is passing away, we in Brigid are believing that if that soul and another who is living, or already long passed have a deep enough bond, they undergo ‘reincarnation’ together, so that they may become together in another life.”

“Reincarnation, huh? So… kind of like a soulmate thing, in a way?”

Petra’s eyes light up. “Yes! Soulmates! Though, that prayer is different than the one that is being more common. In fact, it is quite similar to a prayer spoken in marriage vows.”

“I see,” Ashe rubs his chin. “Actually- I know this may sound odd, but would you be willing to teach me the prayer?”

Petra looks at Ashe curiously before she finally the reason for his request. Before she can respond, the bell signalling the opening of the dining hall for dinner rings throughout the monastery. 

“Perhaps I can be teaching you another time?”

Ashe nods. “Yeah, that’d be great Petra…”

Petra notices the change in his tone of voice.

“Ashe?”

The boy opens his mouth to respond, but finds he cannot respond. 

And then, his eyes fly open.

* * *

In every life, it always begins the same way, and their lives play out as it should. He loves, he grives, he feels the burden of his sibling’s well being on his shoulders. She too loves, she too grives, and she too feels a great burden on her shoulders, one of Brigid’s future and well being. They both press on.

In every life, their first encounter is static. A point in time that occurs regardless of its outcome. They accidentally collide with one another, unaware the other was there. Despite the sharp pangs of pain, they scramble up to gather their belongings that have scattered to the wind. He helps her, and she helps him, and together they learn the other’s names.

In every life, he becomes intrigued by her immediately. She’s almost like a princess in every sense of the word. They way she holds her posture, her polite mannerisms, and even her elegance on the battlefield, she’s just like the ones of which he’s read in his favourite stories; the latter of which he became a witness first hand to in their first mock battle together, a wooden training blade pressed up against chest as she straddles him. Even in such a compromising position, he can’t help but let the word ‘beautiful’ come to mind when he sees the midday sun bare down on her as she cheekily grins at him.

He doesn’t let the image slip away.

In every life, she becomes intrigued months later. For someone who aspires to be a knight, he’s almost entirely unlike most knights she’s seen and met. He was anxious, jittery, afraid of ghosts (something that confused her greatly) and very much lacking in strength, but even in spite of that, he was very kind, soft spoken, and slow to anger. He possessed a certain level-headedness in spite of himself that she found quite admirable, both on and off the battlefield. In their first battle together, Petra almost caught a blade through her neck in her blindside- saved by none other than Ashe, who took the blade to his shoulder without so much as a squeak of pain before cutting down the bandit. 

The image of the reassuring smile he flashes her through his pain is one she can’t let go of.

In every life before the hand of the Emperor forces them apart, they grow closer as days and months pass by, through their friendship built on mutual interest in the other’s cultures and childhoods; and many take notice very quickly. Lunch and dinner outings at the various shops in town are not uncommon, as are shopping trips and not-so secret rendezvous to a lake outside Garreg Mach, where they spend hours of their free time swimming, fishing and hunting in each other’s company. Many outside forces spur these meetings on more frequently, to which new thoughts and feelings stirring within them even when passing a glance over another or the thought of the other crosses their mind.

Tragically, before they can solidify their feelings for the other, the Emperor rains hell down on Garreg Mach, forcing them apart prematurely shortly after the battle’s aftermath; and yet, the faintest of feelings linger in the back of their minds even five years later.

In the life where the Ashen Demon craves the path where flowers are stained in crimson red, Petra too follows the Demon and the Emperor’s lead. After years of stalemate, the tides finally turn and Imperial forces mount a large scale pushback against the Kingdom and Alliance. In those five years she lived in fear. Fear that her choice would force her to plunge her blade into the chest of those she called ‘friend’, wishing nothing more for such a thing to never occur. And for five years, she almost gets her wish. Even in spite of seeing many old faces and friends from a distance, her role as assassin grants her more leeway to see them die by the hand of others from a distance, rather than her standing over their bodies impaled by her dagger.

Until, in her own little quiet corner of Fhirdiad, Petra’s path is blocked by an old friend. When their eyes meet, their respective bows are drawn in swift motions, her lone enemy matching Petra’s speed. Old feelings begin to resurface in the moment, stronger than before. He’s changed, Petra notices immediately. Taller, broader shoulders, neater hair, and even handsomer face, even with him glaring at her with a bow drawn. Her hands are shaking, but she knows his hands are shaking too. 

“Petra. Please. Don’t look at me like that. You’re going to throw off my aim.”

His voice is deeper too. It’s nice on the ears. “I am knowing Ashe. Because I am feeling the same.”

“Then… just go! Get out of here!” Ashe exclaims, and Petra bites her lower lip to stop her from lowering guard. “You- you’ve already helped take so much of what I cared for! Fhirdiad is going to burn to the ground and the rest of the Kingdom- my home, is going to wither away until it’s all nothing but a land full of corpses under the foot of a tyrannical Emperor!” Ashe cries. “So why is it that with you I… I still can’t…”

They remain locked in a stare down for what seems like forever in the small alleyway.... and he hesitates. He loosens the pull on his bow.

But she doesn’t.

And like a bad dream, as his body slumps to the floor, the path behind her becomes more stained in blood; she wonders if it was truly all worth it. 

In the weeks after their final victory at Fhirdiad, the war against Those Who Slither In The Dark began in earnest. Petra finds herself sleeping with the Songstress often, though not out of love, but out of desire to forget him. To forget his bloodied body in that lonely alleyway. To forget the memories of five years past that refused to leave her mind. To push away the thoughts of what they could have been; the Songstress quickly recognises this.

And when their work is finally complete, she returns home to Brigid alone, a distraught, broken, and lonely woman behind the facade of a mask of strength and pride. And on the night of her passing, surrounded only by the darkness of her room in her deathbed with no successors, she passes quietly…

And opens her eyes to a young Songstress knocking on her door. the memories of the bloody path evaporating from her mind. She shrugs off the strange feeling of sadness within her and approaches the door.

And so begins the cycle.

* * *

...And In the life where the Ashen Demon is lured by the shine of an Azure Moon like a beast’s prey, Ashe can’t help but shake the feeling of an intense headache out of his mind. The thought of going to the infirmary crosses his mind- and eventually he does; though the headache doesn’t last long, disappearing from his mind when he comes face-to-face with a young girl his age from the Black Eagle House. Ashe cannot help but sense that with every interaction with Petra from then on, that his mind reaches for something that’s not there. A strange sense of Deja vu that he cannot ignore. 

Except for one moment in which she reveals the truth of her enrollment at the academy- and only her. The bombshell is too much to process, when the Emperor brings down her iron fist on Garreg Mach the next day, and Ashe realises too late he’s seeing Petra’s back- literally and figuratively turned on him as she retreats into Empire territory. 

And from then on, the war of Fodlan breaks out and quickly enters a multi-year stalemate, until the Demon rises from the ashes on the day they promise to return, Demon and Beast slowly pushing the war into the Kingdom’s favour. 

But above all else, Ashe feared returning, fearing he would be forced to kill those he called once friends.

And for a time, Ashe is convinced the Goddess is giving him a lucky break, until they reach Enbarr. In a lonely alleyway, a dagger flies past Ashe’s head, scraping his cheek. He turns towards the direction of the thrown dagger to find Petra standing before him. They draw their weapons, but neither make a move. 

Ashe’s eyes widen upon seeing her again- and Goddess above if she isn’t the most beautiful sight he’s seen throughout the bloodstained war. Ashe immediately notices her traditional garb more akin to what she used to describe to him in their days in the academy, her hair that’s longer and looser but still had some of the signature braids he remembered, a mark she once showed him on her arm, and her matured face from Princess to a regal woman fit to be called Queen.

Ashe quickly realises the weight of their confrontation.

“Petra. Please. We don’t have to do this,” Ashe grits his teeth, hands gripping harder on his lance. “You told me that Brigid- _you_ were a hostage of the Empire! So why…?”

“Ashe. I have been thinking about that. About why I am in Fodlan, in the Empire. I am here to protect Edelgard… and to be stopping you.” Her voice cracks near the end of her declaration and Ashe’s heart breaks. “This is my duty. I…” she hesitates. “I am the will of the emperor…!” 

With one leap from Petra, their fight rages on. The two fight alone in a beautiful and deadly dance of death with each other, trading blows and chipping away at each other ever so slowly. And in the time where he wants it least but needs it most, Ashe finds himself in Petra’s blindspot, just like all those years ago.

_How ironic._

He raises his lance and thrusts it down.

And moments later, the scene of Petra’s lifeless body falling to the ground forever engraves itself into his mind. Even in victory, and even years later when he’s married to his supposed woman of his dreams, she still haunts him like a ghost.

And when he passes away in the heat of battle against a hoard of demonic beasts, Ashe's last thought is only of her, wishing he could somehow do it all over again.

Ashe sits up, covered in sweat. He stumbles out of bed as memories of the Azure Moon disappear from his mind. He wipes the sweat away from his forehead and prepares for his first day of class.

And so the cycle continues.

* * *

In the life where the Ashen Demon follows the path with silver at her feet instead of crimson, their lives begin the same way as they did before. But two souls who were once- twice, torn apart from each other so forcefully always find a way back to one another. And so they begin to remember. They see glimpses of other times, of other places. Nothing makes sense, they both realise. The dreams are incoherent, filled with nothing but nightmares of people that vaguely resemble their own friends fighting and killing each other. The only thing that vaguely stands out in Ashe and Petra’s minds… are the figures of the other standing before them.

Unlike in the times before the path laden in silver snow, Ashe and Petra find themselves seeking the other out as their first meeting. They grow close just like in the times before the current time, but now the Ashen Demon almost abruptly has a curiously intense stake in their relationship. Regular dinners with the three of them are not uncommon, being paired for cross house training, and their assigned chores together outside of regular school work and hours is something the Ashen Demon makes a habit out of, but doesn’t ever speak on.

Though, much to the surprise of those in the Black Eagles, the Blue Lions and to a lesser extent the Golden Deer and the faculty, neither Ashe nor Petra seem to pick up on this becoming a rather common occurrence. The Ashen Demon’s efforts began to show signs of bearing fruit when Ashe’s request to transfer into the Black Eagles house was accepted. Months went before the frustrated Songstress appeared before the Ashen Demon demanding help; and so, with the assistance of the Brawler, Petra and Ashe were spurred into accepting a dance from one another during the ball.

It became incredibly obvious that their feelings had already bloomed, the way they carefully danced with their eyes focused on their partner as if no one else were in the room; miraculously, it was the first and only time Ashe didn’t step on his partner’s feet. The songstress almost cried from how beautiful they looked together.

In spite of this, the tragic events that occured from the day after when the Ashen Demon’s father passed to when the Emperor invaded the Holy Tomb and declared war on the Church and the rest of Fodlan put a strain on everyone in the academy.

And so their feelings they held for another were never once spoken.

Petra asks if she will see him in five years when they promise to return.

Ashe says yes… but Petra can tell he is hesitant.

Quietly and reluctantly, their backs turn on each other for five more gruelling years. 

And It wouldn’t be until the resistance army marched into the closest place to the fires of eternity on Fodlan itself, Aillel, that they would reunite.

The battle began in rapid earnest. The General, more than willing to fight for a death he deemed worthy personally led the charge. While Ashe wasn’t particularly interested in fighting for a place to die, he knew why he was here. Duscur, Christophe, Catherine, Lonato, the Western Church. Disillusioned with the Church and its sphere of influence over the continent, he happily resigned from his position as page to fight for House Rowe- and in effect, for the Empire; even in spite of the Ashen Demon- his teacher returning to fight under the Church’s banner. 

Petra had been selected to be amongst those close to the frontlines. The Ashen Demon banked on the mixture of the heat and chaos of the fighting being enough for Petra, amongst others to slip through the cracks mostly unharmed on foot to flank the remaining army.

Almost predictably this was mostly successful.

Placed close to the front lines, Ashe was ordered to cover the first wave and second wave of forces, and to keep an eye out on their flank. Simple enough on paper, but Ashe had been so occupied with covering the front line, that he, and someone from the battalion he was leading barely realised a smaller army had broken off and begun their assault on them.

Ashe called his battalion to redirect their fire, but it was mostly too late. Their two forces clash head on and Ashe manages to strike two targets before being forced to retreat, the tip of a blade pressed into his back, stopping that attempt.

She whispers his name.

He tenses up. Her voice is a little deeper than he last remembers, but it's definitely _her_. So why hasn’t she killed him yet? She was in the most prime position to do that yet...

He says her name back in the same hushed whisper. Petra struggles to find the strength to plunge her blade into his back, much less the words she wants to say. Ashe takes the opportunity to widen the distance between them. He spins around and their eyes meet, his bow at the ready.

And then, in a flash, it all comes back. The paths of stained flowers draped in crimson red and the azure shine of the moon guiding the way to victory reveals itself to them. The laughter, the grief, fear, and every emotion they felt across the two lives they shared. Too overwhelmed to move, it’s only when Ashe sees one of his men leap at her from behind, and Petra spots one the soldiers in her battalion aim an arrow towards his back, that they try to call out to each other. 

But their voices fall short of reaching one another from the blood they cough up as their bodies collapse. Running on their last dregs of adrenaline, they remain conscious for some moments longer, vainly reaching out for the other’s hand. 

And for the third time, they pass on, surrounded by the eternal flames.

* * *

But in the time where the Ashen Demon is guided by the golden wind, something breaks.

Everything from their birth until their standstill at Ailell seems so familiar… yet so different. In that moment, unlike the time of silver snow, pieces of their memories return; and yet neither of them hesitate. The adopted son of Gaspard does his best to maintain his aim on Petra- and does so almost impressively as arrows that are too close for comfort fly past Petra in spite of her steed’s speed and agility in the air; one even pierces her left arm, and another piercing her Pegasus’ wing. In the same vain, Petra grits her teeth and pushes forward to close the gap quickly on Ashe and his wyvern as he attempts to maintain his cover from her barrage of small daggers. They remain in a small stalemate for a short time until Petra lands two daggers in Ashe’s left leg and two in his steed’s wing; he quickly realises they’re laced with poison, when his wyvern falls to the ground. Petra sees Ashe with his back to the ground and capitalises on the situation. Petra leaps off her steed and on top of Ashe and brings down her blade towards his throat- but stops inches away from his neck.

Ashe, not ready to die in the depths of Aillel, presses his own blade against Petra’s throat.

The pair stare at each, unwilling to seal the deal as they watch a plethora of emotions flash in the other’s eyes. 

Petra lets go of her blade- as does Ashe. The princess of Brigid stands up and holds a hand out to him, a former Page of House Rowe.

And Ashe happily accepts.

The journey to and the days spent in recovery at Garreg Mach are… awkward, to say the least. When underlying feelings suppressed for five years bloom on the battlefield again, only to be amplified by dreams of one another of a different time and a different place- they quickly find it’s hard to maintain any semblance of level-headedness around each other.

Dorothea is the first to notice- something that doesn’t surprise Petra at all. She had always been, and still was extremely perceptive- perhaps even more so now that five years had passed.

“I’ve noticed you’ve been spacing out a lot as of late, Petra. Are you sure something hasn’t been on your mind?”

She shakes her head- but doesn’t say anything to reaffirm as such. A red flag, in Dorothea’s mind. She places a caring hand on Petra’s shoulder. “Well, if there _is_ something on your mind, I’m more than willing to listen to what you have to say,” Dorothea tells her, and Petra silently smiles. The two continue their assigned job of watering the plants in the greenhouse surrounded by the sounds of Dorothea’s soft humming until Petra places her watering can on the ground lets out a long sigh.

“I… I am having something on my mind for quite some time, yes,” Petra begins, and Dorothea glances at Petra’s side profile. “Rather, I have been having thoughts of… _someone_ for quite some time. And I am having great difficulty not thinking of them.”

“...Go on,” Dorothea encourages her.

“It is strange. I am unsure why, but my dreaming… dreams, are being filled with strange visions; that I were… perhaps liking them in another time where we were having no choice but to kill each other. I know it may be… unbecoming of someone who is to be queen of Brigid,” Petra pauses for a moment. “But the dreams… scare me.”

“Oh Petra, I’m so sorry to hear that, but I promise you it's okay for anyone to feel scared,” Dorothea says genuinely. “But if I may ask- you said liking. Do you mean the romantic kind of like? Or platonically?”

Dorothea sees Petra’s cheeks turn pink and blinks.

“...I am thinking it is romantic.”

Oh. _Oh_.

“I see. Would… would you like to talk about it some more? Perhaps over tea?”

Petra nods, grateful to Dorothea for offering her shoulder to lean on.

Likewise, Ashe had to admit that Sylvain was- is quite perceptive, almost annoyingly so if Ashe were to be honest.

“Hey Ashe! It’s good to have you back in these parts. It’s hard not having all of the Blue Lions together, so it’s always nice to another one of us here. Not that I inherently dislike anyone from the Black Eagles or the Golden Deer that are here, but we Blue Lions gotta stick together whenever we can, y’know?”

Ashe sadly smiled. Ever since he committed himself as a soldier of House Rowe, it had meant conflicts with the remaining territories in Faerghus that still resisted Empire and Dukedom invasion; namely, Fraldarius and Gautier.

“Yeah. It’s nice to be back here, I suppose…” he trails off and fires an arrow into a target, hitting the outer ring.

“You suppose? C’mon Ashe, there’s no need to be so dour. You don’t need to worry about your previous allegiance or anything. The Professor trusts you, and so does Claude... I think- but it’s not like I have a reason to doubt you either, so…”

“Even though I’ve fought and killed Gautier soldiers? Even though I’ve betrayed Faerghus?” Ashe cuts in, his arrow piercing the outer ring of the target again, much to his frustration. 

“You may have betrayed Faerghus, but you’re here now. Fighting against the Empire is the best path you could’ve taken to make up for that- and you chose that path, Ashe. You should be proud of yourself. Heck in a way, one could argue I and the rest of the Blue Lions here have betrayed Faerghus, so you don't have to feel alone,” says Sylvain, his tone of voice growing uncomfortably serious. 

“Besides, I don’t particularly blame you for making that decision. When a beautiful woman, moreover, a Princess like that offers her hand to you, I’m sure the knight in shining armour in you refused to say no,” grins Sylvain, his voice settling into his familiar sunny tone again.

Ashe’s third shot misses the target entirely. “W-what are you talking about, Sylvain?” Ashe begins to cough roughly out of shock.

“Hey now, no need to play coy with me, buddy,” Sylvain grins. “Besides, you were staring at Petra the entire way back home.”

Ashe sighs. “Was I really that obvious…?” Ashe whispers, cheeks red in embarrassment.

“Nope! Not really,” Sylvain smirks. “I had a feeling. I know you two were close back in our academy days, but now I couldn’t quite put my finger on it- so thanks for helping me there, Ashe.”

Ashe gaped at Sylvain, suddenly feeling very dumb for being duped into admitting something so embarassing.

“So. Wanna talk about it? The House Rowe and Faerghus stuff can wait. This requires our immediate attention.”

“Our? Immediate?” says Ashe, with a raised eyebrow.

“Our. Immediate.” Sylvain says again, sitting down on rickety old stands in the shaded area. 

Ashe was not ready to deal with this, but he supposed it was better this way.

* * *

Months pass. The Ashen Demon, the Duke, and the Beast for good measure, lead a successful campaign against the Emperor, utterly crushing her forces in Enbarr and winning the war against the Empire; of course, the worst had yet to come. With word coming from the Dark Mage of an all powerful force who slithered in the dark in a place deeper than Abyss itself, the resistance army launched an offensive on the City Without Light, where the Agarthans lay in wait. Even walking away seemingly in victory, the final battle of the long war on Fodlan was only now upon them.

All the while, on the eve of the final battle, Ashe and Petra find themselves in the Goddess Tower. Their conversation is quiet, and spoken in whispers. They piece together what they know. What memories match with what, trying to make sense of why their new sets of memories were so in sync with each other. The mood grows somber the more they speak to each other- and then...

“Did you intend to kill me? Back in Ailell, I mean,” asks Ashe, arms crossed and head staring at the ground beneath him.

Petra doesn’t hesitate. “No. I was not wishing to kill you, Ashe,” she began with the shake of her head. “But those memories of Ailell in the other time, it was... scaring me,” Petra admits. “So I had to be putting on an act- for my battalion and my allies, that we were fighting so I could be saving you myself.” Petra feels her mouth begin to turn dry.

“I… could not be bearing to see you fall again. My heart was- is aching at such a thought.”

His heart began to race.

“And to be hurting your steed, Rover, so badly was not my intention…”

Ashe looks up at Petra, who like him had been staring at the ground. “It’s okay, really. Rover’s fine now. A little bit of healing from Marianne and Lysithea and some rest did the trick. Besides, he likes you now.”

Petra giggles recalling her interactions with Ashe’s wyvern. “I am thinking he is also showing shyness often, isn’t he? But even so, he is strong. But sometimes I am l wondering… wonder, why Opal doesn’t mind you. It is not being uncommon for a Pegasus to be… averse to a man’s presence, but even after Aillel, she was growing fondly of you.”

Ashe tilted his head in thought. He’d given that some thought before, but never thought so deeply as to why that was the case- except after that one time Opal kicked Sylvain onto the ground when the redhead had thrown his arm around Ashe to drag him somewhere.

“I… I’ve never really thought about it, honestly,” Ashe chuckles at the memory.

Petra hums in wonder, and stands at Ashe’s side. “If… If I am having honesty, I have asked Claude and Ingrid the question of why Opal is acting so strangely. Their answers were being less than… expected.”

“Less than expected?” Ashe asks curiously. “What did they say?”

“Well…” Petra says in a hushed tone, and brushes some hair behind her ear. “They were telling me that sometimes, when a pegasus and their rider is being close enough, the pegasus can be taking certain emotional… cues from its rider,” Petra explains, her voice a little shaky.

Ashe lets what Petra said settle in his mind for a moment, and it suddenly clicks. “Oh. R-really? Well, I heard that wyverns can act similar… similarly,” he corrects himself and clears his throat, vainly hoping his cheeks wouldn’t brighten.

“Is that the truth?” Petra asks in a small whisper, closing the gap between them and laying her hands on his shoulders. “Then I am thinking the riders should be… acting on such feelings. Don’t you agree?” she simpers, a dainty blush gracing her cheeks.

Ashe’s heart beats so quickly he begins to lose himself. Unconsciously, his arms wrap around her waist and he pulls her closer. 

“I… I think they should,” Ashe agrees.

Petra smiles- and Ashe can’t help but forget everything around them- and the impending final battle. All Ashe can see, hear and feel is Petra, the moon’s light shining down on her.

“Ashe. I… am wishing to kiss you. Do you consent?”

“Please,” Ashe says breathlessly.

All he wanted was this little moment to last forever- for all the times that their selves from times long past couldn’t. Petra’s hands slide up his neck and cup his face. She stands a little higher, and Ashe meets her halfway-

“Dorothea, please, just hear me out.”

The two pull back and jump out of each other’s arms. Petra grabs one of Ashe’s hands and drags him towards a large pillar.

“Sylvain. You know the final battle is tomorrow. Why did you want to meet me here?”

Ashe and Petra glance at each other, and Petra pulls him along. The two sneak out as quietly as they could before quickly making a beeline for their dorms.

“Well. That was… awkward.”

“I am thinking the same,” Petra giggles.

Ironically, the two stand in silence that quickly grows awkward. 

“Well. I- uh, better go get some sleep…”

Ashe stops when Petra’s hand grabs his wrist. “Petra? Is there something wrong?”

“Ashe. If… if you are willing, will you… will you stay the night with me?” she asks, and Ashe’s mind goes blank. “We have made it this far- but we are not knowing what the battle will look like tomorrow. So I am hoping to… make up for lost time, I believe is the phrase,” she says shyly. “Only if you are consenting, of course.”

_Oh, Sothis._

Ashe can feel his heart racing impossibly faster than even before at the Goddess Tower. Him? With Petra? A commoner man with a woman of royal blood? His pessimistic side screamed that it was too good to be true, but even so…

“OK. Yes. I’d… I’d love to, Petra.”

With little hesitation, the Princess- future Queen of Brigid dragged the Commoner to her dorm room and brought him down into a rough kiss as she locked the door behind them.

...They spent a long time together.

* * *

_“Ashe…?”_

“...she…!”

“Petra…?”

“Ashe!”

His eyes snap open and he immediately coughs up blood that spills all over him. A sharp pain twinges in his side and an earth shattering headache fills his head. He can barely see in front of him for a moment, his blurry vision slowly clearing up to find two of the generals of Nemesis’ laying dead across from him.

“That’s right,” Ashe begins to recall. “I was fighting that battle in the skies with them… and Petra…!” Ashe remembers, pushing up the scaly wing that was covering him.

“Wait… Rover…? Is that you? Get up buddy, we gotta… go…”

Suddenly, a limping Petra meets his eyes, the girl struggling to drag herself towards him on the ground, whilst Opal whines in pain behind her, one of her wings being clipped entirely. Ashe drags himself closer to her, and Opal falls to the ground next to Rover, exhausted from the loss of blood.

Rover's stomach stops moving the wyvern no longer breathing. Then all at once it hits him all too suddenly. This is just like then. Just like in all those other memories, they never both make it out of the great war- and even now it would seem the Goddess, the spirits, or perhaps fate itself still brought down its judgement on them.

Petra grabs onto his shoulders, biting her lips in pain as he pulls her in, and she drags herself to next him. 

“S-sorry…” Ashe mumbles.

“It… it is okay, Ashe.”

Petra pushes herself one more time and leans into his chest.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t,” Ashe interrupts her. “It’s my fault we’re in this mess. I.. I’m so, so sorry Petra. I messed up. So terribly- and now… Brigid will… be without it’s Princess… again,” he can barely get out.

“But Ashe- your siblings will be without an older brother too. Please… don’t sell your death… and your other deaths short.”

“R-right. Sorry…” Ashe breathes out, before they fall let the screams and cheers of war sound around them. 

“...Petra?”

“Yes?”

“Could you… could you tell me how that prayer is supposed to go? You know… the one… that you told me you’d tell me about five years ago?

It takes a moment for her to remember, but when she does, she can’t help but smile.

“Yes… I’d love nothing more.”

_“Oh Spirits of Earth, please be shielding our souls on our journey home to where our souls may spend eternity together. Spirits of Water, please be filling our loved ones who remain in the realm of the living with happiness in spite of their grief. Spirits of Wind, please be gifting us with divine protection- a sword to ward off evil that may impede our journey home. Spirits of Fire, please be welding our souls together, so that we may never be separated from each other again, and allow us to bask in each other’s warmth and love until time is ending. Oh spirits. If we are to be separated- to be born again in another time far from one another- then please spirits, be guiding our souls back together. May our lives- souls be binding completely together now and forever more…”_

“Petra… that was… beautiful,” Ashe hoarsely whispers. Petra grips his hand as hard as she can. “I hope… we can see each other… again.”

Petra nods. “I would be… loving that.”

...

“Petra…”

“Yes, Ashe?”

“Oh. Oh good. I… I can’t see much anymore. I wanted to know… you were still here.”

“It is okay. I am still being here with you.”

“Okay. That’s good. Let me just rest a little. Maybe we can… go do our shopping later.”

“... I would be liking that, Ashe.”

…

“Petra…”

“Yes, Ashe?”

“Do you still want to learn… the secret techniques?”

“Yes. I would be liking that. Show me all the things, Ashe…”

…

“Petra…”

“Yes, Ashe?”

“Do you… are we, friends?”

“I would like to hope so, Ashe.”

“Okay. That’s good. I like that.”

…

  
  


“Petra…”

“Yes, Ashe?”

“I’ve been… thinking. I… I really don’t… deserve you.”

“Please… don’t be thinking that… Ashe.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry…”

…

“Petra…?”

“Yes, Ashe?” 

“I’m… feeling tired. Will you… wake me up when… it’s our next class… Or when we march for our next battle?”

“...Okay. I will be promising this. I will be by your side... until that time… and after.”

“Thank you, Petra.

…

“Ashe…?”

“Yes, Petra?”

“My Guardian Knight… Ashe... I love you”

“My Queen… Petra... I love you too...”

...

  
  


_Petra Macneary_

_Died in the Battle for Fodlan in the Caledonian Plateau, Imperial Year 1185. Laid to rest in Brigid along with her lover, Ashe Ubert._

_Ashe Ubert_

_Died in the Battle for Fodlan in the Caledonian Plateau, Imperial Year 1185. Laid to Rest in Brigid along with his lover Petra Macneary._

* * *

…

“...up…”

“He… ke up…”

“Hello…”

“...class…”

He opens his eyes.

“Hello!” The oddly familiar and cheerful voice says as he slowly sits up. “The Professor has dismissed class. She was asking me if I could be waking you up.”

The boy sits up straight. “W-wait, it’s over?! Already?!”

The girl blinks. “Yes, it is over. The class has been finishing… has finished for a few minutes now.”

The boy groaned. “Great. What a way to start my second of High School: by sleeping through all of class.”

The girl giggles. “If you are wanting, you can be borrowing my notes if you like,” she holds out a notebook towards him. Ashe looks up at the girl to thank him before he freezes up. She’s the new girl… Petra, he thinks to himself. It was his first time speaking to her, so why was her face and the name so familiar…?

“Ashe.”

“Y-yes?” Ashe jumps in his seat a little.

Petra smiles is one that is so familiar and yet…

“I’m sorry I couldn’t wake you up in time for class to start, Ashe.”

The young boy freezes up, his eyes going wide in momentary shock. It takes him a few minutes to speak again- but Petra sits next to him ever so patiently and waits for him to respond; and then it hits him all at once. 

“Petra… is it…?”

Petra grasps her hands in his. “It is,” she nods with tears prickling at the corner of her eyes; Ashe can’t hold back the tears when he sees her begin to cry. They press their foreheads against each other and neither can suppress their ear-to-ear smiles.

“I finally found you,” Ashe whispered.

“And I finally found you,” Petra adds, cupping his face.

And as their lips meet in an emotional kiss, for the first time in their lives- in _all_ of their lives, they’re finally, truly happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Sike, you get a happy ending cos I couldn't bear to have it end the way it did.
> 
> Sorry about that, but I'm a stickler for happy endings :/
> 
> Also, do I need to stop doing start projects when I have others to complete? Yes, but when inspiration strikes you, sometimes you gotta strike while the iron is hot, as they say; it is what it is.
> 
> Anyway, I please considering leave a kudos, comment and a bookmark, I'd really appreciate it.
> 
> That being said, have a good one!
> 
> P.S reading the end of the second last scene with this made it extra sad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjTHAw_okOk


End file.
